“A lot of people treats dogs like actual humans, but they are not – they are still dogs…”

“We have to understand the dog’s psychology; they need to belong to a pack and follow a leader. I learnt from a dog trainer that you gotta show the dog who is the pack leader and you are going to be the pack leader – and you have to tell the doggie what is good and what is not and the correct behavior to follow – and they are happy. He listens to you, that’s how he’s an obedient doggy. When you see a dog that’s aggressive and barking at random people, that’s not the dog’s fault, its the owner’s fault. The dog is vicious only if its mistreated or it is taught to be a pack leader. You see dogs are loyal, once they see you as a pack leader they will stick with you.

I honestly think that if humans were to vanish, dogs would be the first animal to go away because they are so dependent on us. My dog’s name is Gundu and his full name is Gundu Pistachio Bartholomew Thomas. He’s a shinzu dog . If he’s out there on his own, he doesn’t even know how to avoid cars and will be flattened to death – and if not that, he’ll starve to death.

I don’t know how to manage cats though – I just don’t know (laughs)”. 

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

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(This post was first published on September 23rd 2016)

This is Paralympian Mariappan Perumal. He is 58 years old and he won Malaysia’s first Paralympic medal in 1988 (Seoul, Korea) and then another in 1992 (Barcelona, Spain). He is a seven-time Paralympian and this is his story

“I want to make sure other athletes won’t be forgotten the same way as me. These athletes work hard all their life, and they only deserve the best. When I started powerlifting in 1980, I never saw myself being rich from it because I knew it wasn’t a famous sport, and I was a disabled athlete. 

I chose to train anyway, hoping that one day I would be a household name that could bring change to the sports scene. 

Eventually I managed to win two bronze medals for Malaysia.

Yet here I am, in this tiny living room of mine with nothing to offer but my story. 

I was a seven time paralympian, an ice cream seller, a tailor and also a lift attendant.

Those were some very tough times, I still feel like I had been used like a piece of rag cloth. 

I haven’t signed an autograph for so long, this is the first time in about five years. 

I try not to complain, but it’s hard when there are four other mouths besides mine to feed. 

My children are in school and my son wants to be a powerlifter like me. 

He even has a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger hung up in the wall.

How will I show him this is a sustainable future when I live in dump like this?

It breaks my heart to think about this, but I am really grateful disabled athletes now get the same treatment as able-bodied athletes – they truly deserve it”. 

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Story contributed by May Alexandra

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

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(This post was first published on September 14th 2016)

“I once wrote a children’s book called ‘The Adventures of Tabby The Cat’. It was about animal abuse, and teaching people lessons on how animals should be loved, particularly cats…”

“I did a few readings here to kids in Malaysia and Singapore. We had this cat back in the US in my house, that was really old, and missing its tooth. And one day it showed up at my door and it belonged to nobody. We shooed it away, because we didn’t want him, and didn’t know where he came from. But he kept coming every single day for the next two weeks. Then one day my sister finally let the cat in the house, started feeding it, and it became our cat.

The whole time I was wondering, where did this cat come from? Its old, its missing a tooth. So when I was at university I wanted to get into the entertainment industry – and I took a summer job with the circus. I was helping produce the circus, I was an associate producer. I had my own trailer and saw at how all the animals were treated – they weren’t treated that great. And there was one performer cat that’s part of the show. So I said, ‘that’s it!’. Tabby, my cat at home, he’s an escaped circus cat, and he found our home and that’s how I wrote the story. I’ve written the second book and waiting for my illustrator to be done with the drawings. And its about Tabby the Cat going back to the circus to save all the other animals”.

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

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(This post was first published on August 25th 2016)

“During my university days, I had to ‘straight’ act, as what we call it…”

“I have this tendency to ‘melatah’, its like when you suddenly get surprised and you exclaim something in surprise. So for me I’d say something like ‘oh p@nt@t kau’.

People who ‘melatah’ are usually associated with women and soft manners. So a lot of times when I’d get surprised out of my ‘straight character’, my ‘sassiness’ will come out, as my lecturer said it. Pretending is really hard, which is why I say be who you are. Some people may not agree with you. You can’t control everyone around you but you can control your emotions and actions towards those who are negative about you. So be around people who are positive and accept who you are. I am full of sassiness, there’s no way people can stop me from being sassy. I’m sassy and I know it”. 

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

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(This post was first published on August 25th 2016)

“This is like my nighttime ride. I use the hoverboard in my home and around the mall…”

(Mike, founder of Mikey’s Pizza speaking) “Probably the first guy to walk around the house with a hoverboard too. I mean I even go on escalators with this thing. It’s easy for me to ‘think’ when I’m on it. Sometimes I just pace up and down my house, thinking, on this hoverboard. But basically it’s just easy for me to visit my shops and go through the mall. I get a lot of people looking at me, especially kids. Kids love it. And I have stairs to my house, and I want to build a ramp so I don’t have to walk you know what I mean? It just makes it very easy for me to come visit the shop from my office.

“Then how do you keep fit when you’re not even walking? 

“I workout everyday… I do a small workout, like a 110-150 BPM HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout in the morning everyday. And yes, I use the hoverboard to go to the gym”. 

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

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(This post was first published on August 25th 2016)

“I come from Manhattan, and have been living for 7 years in Malaysia…”

“I came here originally as a consultant and my job was to study the Malaysian economy. I informed foreign investors on why Malaysia is a good place to invest, and then I saw the investment opportunities myself. So I opened up Mikey’s Pizza. Yes, I’m Mike! Now I have a Malaysian wife so I am here for a while. I can speak ‘sikit sikit’ Bahasa.”

“Has anyone ever told you you look like Captain America (Chris Evans)?”

“Once or twice people would tell me I look like Captain America (Chris Evans). But I mostly get Bradley Cooper”. 

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

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(This post was first published on August 24th 2016)

“Today I got Poliwag (the Pokemon), but I’m actually looking for Pikachu…”

“My strongest Pokemon thus far is Scyther. I’m on the way to work now and whenever we stop at a train station, it’s a Pokestop so all us Pokemon players are catching many Pokemons. So far I’ve gotten three today. Funny story, last weekend I was supposed to meet up with my friends at the bar, so my friend and me parked really far away. We then walked the long way to the bar – so that we can catch Pokemons along the way. Everybody is capturing Pokemons when standing in the bus, driving in the car, and in the middle of the road. I just want to advise other Pokemon players to be aware of your surroundings – don’t put yourself in danger in the middle of the (traffic) jam! I’ve met many friends through playing Pokemon and that’s the best part about playing Pokemon – having interaction with other Pokemon players. This surrounding area has a lot of Pokemon and I’ve been talking to a lot of people!”

– Humans of Kuala Lumpur

Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa

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(This post was first published on August 24th 2016)